Ministry of Defence

AWACS: Procurement

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many E-7 Wedgetail AWACS systems they plan to procure; and what is the anticipated delivery timescale of each such system.

Baroness Goldie: In March 2019, HM Treasury and the Ministry of Defence approved the procurement of five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, however, discussions regarding the final E-7 Wedgetail fleet size are on-going with a decision expected in the first half of this year. The first UK E-7 Wedgetail is expected to enter service with the Royal Air Force in 2023.

AWACS: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence’s single-source 20-year support contract for E-7 Wedgetail AWACS system meets the revised conditionson wider public value as set out in HM Treasury's Green Book 2020, last updated on 3 December; and if so, how.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not yet entered into a support contract for the RAF E-7 Wedgetail aircraft. On 3 December 2020 the MOD published a Voluntary Transparency Notice outlining its intention to place such a contract in the future, and promoting potential sub-contracting opportunities. Before entering any contract, proposals are subject to rigorous scrutiny and approvals processes to ensure that they represent value for money for the UK taxpayer and are compliant with Departmental and Government policy, including the Green Book.

Navy: Military Exercises

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government which nations participated in the Royal Navy’s "Thursday Wars" during 2020.

Baroness Goldie: The Royal Navy's 'Thursday Wars' are weekly war-fighting and damage control exercises held during Fleet Operational Sea Training.Norway, Germany, Netherlands and Denmark participated during 2020.

Department of Health and Social Care

Surrogate Motherhood

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration is given to the welfare of (1) women, and (2) children, whendeveloping policy on surrogacy.

Lord Bethell: The Law Commissions for England and Wales and Scotland have been undertaking a review of United Kingdom legislation about surrogacy with significant engagement from a range of stakeholders. The Law Commissions are currently considering responses to a public consultation about proposed changes.The key consideration of these proposals is to balance the best interests of children born through surrogacy, treated as paramount in line with the current law, with the interests of women acting as surrogates, and the interests of intended parents.Draft legislation is expected in 2022 and is intended to be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny.

Coronavirus: Yorkshire and the Humber

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases of the new variant of COVID-19 were recorded in (1) York, and (2) North Yorkshire,between, and inclusive of, 1 December and 30 December.

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases of COVID-19, not including thoseof the new variant of that virus, were recorded in (1) York, and (2) North Yorkshire, between, and inclusive of, 1 December and 30 December.

Lord Bethell: Public Health England does not hold the data in the format requested as this information is not collected by new variant and non-variant cases. Available data from 1 December to 30 December inclusive showed positive COVID-19 in 1,558 cases in York and 4,024 for North Yorkshire.

Lung Diseases: Rehabilitation

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve pulmonary rehabilitation services; and what funding has been allocated to any such work in the 2020/21 financial year.

Lord Bethell: Respiratory disease is a national clinical priority in the NHS Long Term Plan and increasing access to pulmonary rehabilitation is part of this. NHS England and NHS Improvement working in close partnership with patients and partners, including the British Lung Foundation, are developing and implementing policy on provisions of pulmonary rehabilitation services in England.The National Respiratory Programme is part of the wider Cardiovascular Disease and Respiratory programme which was allocated £15 million of NHS Long Term Plan funding for 2020/21.

Lung Diseases: Health Services

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that patients with lung conditions can access health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Bethell: General practitioners and their teams have played and continue to play a crucial role in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in ensuring that people can get the care they need - between March and August 122.8 million appointments took place in general practice. They have remained open for all patients, including respiratory patients to attend, be that face to face, via telephone or online.Through national and regional campaigns, the National Health Service continues to urge to the public to come forward with any health concerns they have and to reassure them that the NHS is here for them. A national campaign to encourage the public to seek help when necessary began in October 2020.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the medical training provided to staff administering COVID-19 tests to university students.

Lord Bethell: Depending on where the test takes place, a clinically trained member of staff will take the swab or the swab will be self-administered. All regional test sites have at least one first aider on site at all times. Swabbing for lateral flow tests can be self-administered but the tests are processed at dedicated testing sites by trained personnel.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reclaim monies paid to private sector companies involved in COVID-19 test and trace projects which have failed.

Lord Bethell: Performance and quality assurance standards and processes are included in all Government contracts. If the company does not meet required service levels, the contracts may be terminated and only receipted goods and services will be paid for.